Guardtale
by buslimpan
Summary: It was supposed to be an easy mission. Escort the kid to Asgore's castle and then back. How did it get so complicated?
1. A promise of help

_Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS._

 _One day, war broke out between the two races._

 _After a long battle, the humans were almost victorious._

 _Before the humans could ban the monsters to the underground, seven kind souls stepped forward._

 _Four humans and three monsters, they pleaded the kings to stop the war._

 _They stood their ground and after a long time…_

 _There were finally peace._

Despite the war being over, it was still some tension between both humans and monsters. Some humans sided with the monsters and some monsters sided with the humans. To calm things down, the two kings moved their kingdoms far away from each other. Over time, the kingdoms expanded and the bigger towns got their own mayor that answered to the kings. And as the time passed, the relation between humans and monster became better and the hate and fear slowly disappeared until it was almost completely gone.

.

.

 **MANY YEARS LATER**

.

 **The human Queen's castle**

Chatter echoed in the big hallway along with footsteps from different persons. Maids and cleaners, both human and monsters, were scattered around and cleaning and decorating the room in green, red, silver and gold colors. A big celebration was up, one of the Queens children's birthday was in a few days. Despite the hurry in order to get everything up in time, everyone was cheerful and happily chatted with each other while they worked.

Quickened footsteps stood out from all the others as a human woman dressed in a suit hurried past all the maids and cleaners. Her red hair was tied into a knot and it barely moved as she took quick steps. Everyone went silent when they noticed her. A troubled frown dressed her face as she walked towards the largest door that existed in the middle of the large and long hallway. She barely glanced at the decoration as she hurried past. She paused at the door and looked at the two guards standing there.

"I need to see the Queen. It's urgent." She said with a steady voice and the guards silently opened the door for her. The woman stepped into the large throne room.

The room were brightly colored with some dark colored details. Flowers of all kinds decorated the walls along with lamps. Different kinds of paintings covered the space that wasn't covered with flowers. The sunlight that shone through the windows light up enough of the room to make the electric lamps unnecessary. By the floor were some tables with different statues on, otherwise the room was bare. Except for the two thrones at the end of the room.

The woman walked over to the occupied throne and bowed to the other human woman on it. The woman wore a dark blue dress with a white pattern and a white jacket over it. A golden crown sat on top of her black hair.

"Queen Estelle." The woman in the suit said, still bowed down.

"Ah, Mario. What brings you here? Shouldn't you be speaking with the mayors?" The queen said. Mario stood up straight and nodded to the lady.

"Yes, my Queen. I was talking to them but I got a call from King Asgore. He requests to have a video conference with you." She said seriously. Estelle frowned.

"No. He knows very well I do not wish to talk to him outside the necessarily occasions and formally ones." She said and waved a hand to dismiss Mario. She paused as Mario didn't move an inch.

"Your Majesty, this is urgent. And I'm inclined to believe him. He has never called you outside from the necessary calls, except from the time you just have taken over the crown. So please, my Queen. Answer his call, just this once." Mario said as she looked dead in Estelle's eyes. The queen looked at her secretary and contemplated what has just been said.

"Just this once then. Go and prepare for the call, I will arrive shortly." She said and Mario quickly bowed before she hurried out of the room.

Estelle sat for a moment on her throne and wondered about the reasons Asgore would have called her on. She sighed and rose up from her seat. Subconsciously she brushed away non-existent dirt from her dress as she walked towards the large door. The guards kept the door open for her and fell into her steps as she continued onward. She smiled at her servants as she passed them but she didn't falter in her speed. Soon enough she and the guards reached the conference room and she walked in while the guards stopped outside and closed the door after her.

The room was an oval one with a table matching the room. At the end of the room was a screen and a picture of the monster goat, Asgore. Estelle walked over to the screen and looked wearily at the other regent. He looked very tired, but despite that he gave her a gentle smile.

"Queen Estelle, thank you for answering my call. I know I normally don't call you and thus I'm very sorry." He said and bowed his head in an apology. Her eyes narrowed a little before she stood straighter.

"King Asgore. To my understanding, this is urgent. So get to the point."

"Ah, yes. Of course. You see, the inhabitants in my kingdom are getting sick-"

"I know you have very potent healers and doctors in your kingdom, I'm sure you are able to find a cure on your own."

"Queen Estelle. This isn't like any other sickness out there. This is something completely new. None of my healers or doctors have seen anything like this. We don't even know how it starts or how it spread. I'm taking that you haven't seen it or getting reports of it in your kingdom, but I'm sure you have getting reports of attacks on villages of monster and humans from my land."

"How are this sickness related to your attacks?"

"The ones that's infected are very aggressive and will attack anything that they doesn't consider a friend. Some have gone so far that they will kill for the thrill of it. Some of my people have been able to get through the haze the infected seem to be in, but it doesn't last very long. Please, I need your help. My people needs your help. They are suffering under this sickness and we have yet to find a cure."

"So I am to believe that your attacks on my people are just sick crazy people? That you have no control over? I'm not that dumb, Asgore. Declare war if that's what you want!"

"That isn't what I want! Please, Estelle! I'm begging you! I have sent all men I can to take care of the sick people, but I can't guarantee anyone's' safety! My alchemists are at a lost, they don't know what to do."

Asgore had let all of his dignity disappear. If he could, he would have been on his knees and begged for help. Estelle looked at the goat man and her features softened just a little.

"Do you have any proof that they are sick, and not a group that hates the truce we have?"

"Yes. My alchemists and doctors have found traces of some kind of energy in the bodies that's affecting everyone that carries it. It isn't something that are supposed to be there."

"That sounds more like drugs to me than a sickness."

"They get sick of it too. First it's just a normal cold that gets worse until they snap. And even if it's a drug, we need help. Please, can you send someone to help? A doctor, a scientist? Just someone to help my men dealing with the sick ones!"

Estelle stood there as she thought about what Asgore just recently told her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them again and looked at the desperate man.

"I know someone who might be able to help. I'll send them together with some soldiers." She said and Asgore's face lit up with relief.

"Thank you, Queen Estelle. When should I be expecting them?"

"I'll send them in a few days. So a week from now on, if their journey goes well."

"Thank you once again. May my prayers for your people be heard. Goodbye, Queen Estelle."

"Goodbye. May the Gods be with you, King Asgore." She said and the video call was cancelled. Estelle stood there for a minute before speaking out.

"Mario." She said and the secretary was quickly at her side.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Go and fetch Toriel. I need her to prepare Frisk for their journey."

* * *

 **AN: ... Ok, I'm now officially Undertale trash. I have started a fanfic. Welp, nothing to do about it than to write!**

 **First things first: hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this prologue of** _Guardtale_ **! This story is spawned from Shyrstyne's picture "** Undertale - Shield Bearer **" on devianart. Go and look it up, it's amazing! And in the next chapter you will see why this has the name it has and how this spawned from the picture!**

 **Secondly: This is about my update pace. I'm a slow writer(though I'm now trying to write a little every day) and I don't want to be pushed into making updates. Because then the story will not become good. So I'm asking of you readers to not leave any "** Update! **" reviews. It's fine to say "** It will be fun to read more! **" and "** Can't wait to see what happens next! **" but don't step over that line. While I'm happy that you like the story, "** Update! **" reviews just stress me out and I will lose the fun in writing the story. And that will just make it harder for me to write. I already have one story on hiatus until I have finished writing the story because I was too slow to update according to a guest reviewer. I will do the same to this story if I get too many "** Update! **" reviews. I really wish that it won't happen. Please be patient with me! I will do my best!**

 **I have one more chapter that I need to finish and update and hopefully it won't take too long(I will have two more days of rest before I start to work again). After that it will take some time between the chapters. When I update though, it might be a double update then. But that's just a maybe. So don't count on it.**

 **Thirdly: If you have a question, ask! I'll answer the question the best I can without spoiling anything!**

 **And lastly: To my readers on my other fanfics that take a peak on this: sorry. Didn't mean to start this one, but I can't help it, especially when I have a friend I can talk with this about. I'm still writing my other stories, this one just popped up and demanded to be written. I still hope that you enjoyed this!**

 **Thank you for reading this long AN and reading this prologue! I hope to see you in the next chapter! :)**


	2. Agreement

A big, white and furry monster sat in an armchair with a book in her hands. On the floor in front of her, sat three human children. The oldest looked into a book of her own and looked a little bored. The second were drawing on a paper. The youngest one were looking at the monster with curiosity. The room they were in resembled a library with all of the bookshelves along the walls. On one side, several big windows were and through them shone sunlight, bathing the room in warm and cosy light. A mixture of the colors golden brown and light yellow added to the warm feeling. Pushed against the only empty wall were desks of different sizes together with chairs. Behind the monster were a moveable whiteboard, currently covered in doodles and theories about magic.

"Now, children, could you tell me about the difference between fire magic and ice magic?" She said with a gentle voice. The smallest child scrounged their face together as they thought. The oldest child rolled her eyes before continuing reading the book she had in her hands. The middle one looked up.

"Isn't it that the fire burns and make warm light while the ice freezes and make invisible light, Ms. Toriel?" He said and the monster smiled at the boy.

"That is correct, Matthias. Is there anything else you want to add? Miranda? Frisk?" Toriel said and looked at the other two children. The youngest's face lit up and they nodded.

"Fire magic can heal open wounds while ice magic can heal bones!" They said happily and Toriel chuckled.

"But that requires the user to be really good. It's extremely hard to heal someone when the magician isn't specialized in healing. To heal with another element is not only hard, but dangerous too. Even Ms. Toriel have trouble to heal open wounds." The oldest child said with boredom apparent in her voice. Toriel gave her a small and patient smile.

"That is correct too, Miranda. While it is hard to learn, it's not impossible. I'm happy to see that you have paid attention to the lessons." She said and turned to the next page in the book.

"Now then, what do you have to say about-" She begun but got interrupted by the door opening and quick footsteps entering the room. Toriel looked up from the book as all three children looked towards the door.

"Ah, Ms. Mario. What makes you to visit me?" Toriel said with a smile as the other woman came up to her.

"Princess Miranda, Prince Matthias, Nobel Frisk. You are excused from this lesson. You have permission from the Queen to go and play." Mario said and gave a curt nod to the children. Miranda and Matthias was quick up on their feet and hurried out of the room while Frisk slowly got up and hesitating. They looked at Toriel who nodded.

"Go on, my child. It's alright. Go and have fun." She said with a smile and they slowly nodded before hurrying after Miranda and Matthias. When the children were out of the room, Toriel closed her book and rose from her seat. She turned towards the secretary.

"What can I do for you?" She asked and looked down at the human.

"Queen Estelle wishes to speak with you. Immediately. She has a special mission for you." Mario said and Toriel gave her a concerned look.

"Is that so? Then I will not keep her Majesty waiting." She said and made the book fly into it's place. Then she walked out of the room and Mario was immediately at her side. They walked in silence until they had almost reached the conference room. Before Toriel got into hearing range of the guards, she was stopped by Mario.

"Whatever the Queen has to say, don't overreact. Don't do anything rash, you will answer to it if you do." She said in a low voice. Toriel stared at her and into her eyes.

"What is it that the Queen need to ask me for that will make me careless?" She whispered. Mario took a step forward and walked over to the guards instead of answering her. The guards opened the door for her and let her in. Toriel wore a worried expression while standing on the same spot before following Mario into the room. She immediately spotted Estelle by the big screen in the room. Mario had already walked over to her. Toriel walked to Estelle and bowed to her with her right arm over her chest.

"Queen Estelle. You wished my presence?" She said as she straightened up.

"Yes, I did. King Asgore has requested my help and I intend to help him." Estelle said and Toriel froze at the name.

"What… What did he want?" She said as she tried to relax and be neutral. Mario's eyes narrowed a little but she said nothing.

"He needed some people to take care of his sick humans and monsters. It appears that they tend to get violent when they have been sick long enough. I'm going to send some of my men to take care of this and at the same time make sure that Asgore isn't planning to attack us while disguising it as a sickness." Estelle said and started to walk along one of the walls. Toriel followed her with her eyes.

"While I personally think that Asgore wouldn't start a war over nothing, secretly at that too, I am a bit confused over what this has to do with me. You appear to have already decided on what action you should do." She said cautiously. The queen paused at one of the closed windows and rested a hand on the wall beside it.

"I'm also going to send Frisk to him, and I want you to prepare them for their journey." She said and Toriel felt her blood run cold.

"What did you say?" She said and Estelle turned towards Toriel. She looked her dead in the eyes.

"I'm sending Frisk. And I want you to prepare them." She said seriously and Toriel were silent for a moment. Then she started to speak in a chilling voice.

"You are sending a _child_ to take care of some sick, mad people? They have no training in healing or fighting! And you dare to even _think_ about sending them to a kingdom you don't trust. Frisk is _ten_ , and still you want to send them to Asgore to take care of violent persons? What kind of a queen would send a child to battle? _What kind of a mother sends their child away to take care of a political business?!_ "

Mario took a step forward towards Toriel but was stopped by Estelle with a simple raise of a hand.

"Toriel. I'm very well aware that you are quite fond of the child. If you hadn't been a monster, you would have adopted them yourself, wouldn't you?" She said in a calm voice and Toriel clenched her fists.

"This isn't about me. This is about you sending a mere child into battle!"

"You seem to have forgotten that I will not send Frisk alone. I'm also sending some of my soldiers to escort Frisk and help them when they get there."

"I take it that they are all human."

"With the recent attacks on the villages around my kingdom, I can't spare my monster soldiers to follow Frisk. I need to send the ones who are still here across my land, so they can protect my people."

A snort before cold laughter came from Toriel.

"Queen Estelle. Please, just say you don't trust your monster soldiers around Frisk. And I have to agree with that decision because most of your monster soldiers can't be trusted with something as fragile as a child is. But I do disagree with your choice of only sending humans with Frisk. None of your human soldiers can do magic and that means that they can't protect the child if they encounter a monster that can't be hurt with normal attacks."

"Who would you suggest then to send with Frisk? As you yourself said, none of my monster soldiers can be trusted with a child. They are too far rough with them."

"Me. Send me with Frisk. I'm a magician, I can both attack and protect. I can heal wounds too, if needed. And you know that I would never hurt the child."

"I can't send you, Toriel."

"Why not?"

"Our Queen can't send you because you have quitted as a magician. You said so yourself when you wanted to seek asylum here in the city. When you applied to be a teacher. You haven't been training properly during all the years you have been here, and with my experience with normal soldiers not training for a long time, they will lose their touch. While you have used everyday magic constantly, I have never seen nor heard you train properly on your magic. That makes you an unsafe card if you were to travel with Nobel Frisk, your magic is too unreliable at the moment. If you had been training properly, then you would have been the perfect choice." Mario intervened and Toriel slowly looked over to the secretary. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I guess you are right on that aspect, Mario. I haven't been training properly." She said before opening her eyes again and turning towards Estelle.

"But I still want you to send some monsters with Frisk. They will be able to deal with situations that no humans would be able to deal with. I plead to you, Estelle. Send some monsters with them. Otherwise I won't let them leave the castle." She said and Estelle were silent for a while.

"If you find someone suiting, then I will. Make arrangements to have an audition by tomorrow morning. Don't let anyone know that it is for an escorting mission, I want as few as possible know about this. I don't want my child to be attacked because someone wants to demand ransom for them. Is this clear?" She said sternly and Toriel smiled in relief. She bowed in gratitude.

"Thank you, Queen Estelle. I will see to it immediately." She said and hurriedly left the room.

.

Estelle let out a sigh when the goat monster were out of the room.

"I think that was a wise choice, my Queen." Mario said as she walked up Estelle.

"We'll see about that. I'm not sure if I want Toriel to find suitable monsters for this mission or not." She said as she looked at the door.

"Either way, Toriel will see to it and make Frisk enough prepared for this journey and some. While she has her own thing to do, we still have our things to attend to, my Queen." Mario said and Estelle nodded.

"Yes. Mario, gather the soldiers and start the preparations for the journey. We have a lot of things to do." She said and walked out of the room. Mario bowed at the orders before disappearing to do what she had been told to do.

* * *

 **AN: Hello everyone! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter :)**

 **One of the main character for this story showed up, yey! Though it was only for a short time :P Frisk appears more in the next chapter. And for those who are wondering, I'm not going to make Frisk a boy or a girl.**

 **Next chapter is more lighthearted than this one! Promise!**

 **And, if you are wondering something, feel free to ask.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. New meeting

The sun was going behind the horizon, but it's rays still shone over the capital city. People were going home, emptying the streets but still some lingered while trying to make the last preparations for the day. As the sunlight slowly disappeared, light on the street were lightened. Two monsters stood out from the rest of the villagers.

"Come on, Brother! We cannot miss this GREAT opportunity!" A tall skeleton said as he strode towards the castle in the middle of the city. He wore an armor that was probably more fancy than practical, and he had a sword resting on his hip. Around his neck were a red scarf, over his shoulders hung a backpack and a small, blue shield with a skull were hanging from it. Under his arm hung a short skeleton with a blue jacket and black shorts, who rested his chin in his hand.

"Well, we aren't going to miss it with this speed you have." He said before dropping his hand down and letting it hang there. He looked around from his place and saw that most of the humans and monsters that were still out were staring at them.

"Hey, Pap. We probably need to check in to an inn. The audition are tomorrow, right?" He said and looked up at the walking skeleton.

"Why?"

"Well, they are probably not going to let us into the castle until tomorrow."

"Hmpf! We'll go there tonight and that will show them how determined we are for this job! We'll not be outshined by amateurs!"

The short skeleton let out a chuckle and closed his left eye.

"That's a bright idea, bro." He said and continued to chuckle to himself. The tall skeleton abruptly stopped and lifted the other skeleton in front of him. He squinted his eyes at his grinning brother.

"Sans. It is not time for puns!" He said before putting Sans back under his arm and start walking again. Sans merely shrugged and continued to hang there. He smiled and waved to some children that were staring at them and giggling.

.

After some more walking, they reached the gates to the big castle. Sans yawned big as he was carried over to the two human guards that were standing outside.

"Greetings, Humans! I am the Great Papyrus, and this is my brother, Sans!" The tall skeleton said as he held Sans in front of him.

"'Sup." Sans said with a lazy wave. The two guards looked at each others before the looked at the skeleton brothers.

"What is your business with the castle?" One of guards said as they stepped forward. Papyrus put down Sans on the ground before straightening out his back and hit his chest with one of his fists.

"We heard that there would be an audition tomorrow for a guarding job! And we are here to apply to it!" He said with a big grin. The guard shook their head.

"You have to come back tomorrow for that. We are not letting in anyone in the castle this time at the day." They said and Papyrus' shoulders sagged a little before he straightened up again.

"Very well then! If that is the case, we will wait right here until it is time for you to open the gates!" He said before he promptly sat down on the ground. He reached over his shoulders and took the backpack off them. He started to rummage through it in search for something to eat. The two guards just stared at him.

"Sir. You can't sit here. We ask of you to remove yourself from the gate." The other guard said as he motioned towards the gate. The first guard nodded. Sans just shrugged.

"Come on, bro. Let's sit down by the wall. Will be easier to sleep there." He said and walked some way away before sitting down on the grass by the stonewall.

"Okay! Coming!" Papyrus said before quickly raising up and hurrying over to his brother. The two guards just looked at each other before shrugging off the two strange monsters.

.

As Papyrus sat down again, he picked up two apples. He handed one to Sans who looked at it for a bit.

"This is what we got, huh?" He said and Papyrus nodded.

"Yes! Well, we do got a few more, but they'll do for tonight!" He said and took a big bite of his apple.

"Man… We really need to get that job tomorrow… We're running out of money." Sans said with a sigh before taking a bite of his own apple.

"Don't worry, Brother! It will turn out great! Well, as long as you decide not to be lazy…" Papyrus said and gave Sans a stern glance. Sans simply chuckled. After that both of them were silent during the rest of their meal. When they were finished, Sans yawned big and leaned backwards onto the wall.

"Welp, I'm a nighter. See ya tomorrow, bro." He said and closed his eyes. Before Papyrus had the chance to say anything, Sans was gone into the dreamworld. Papyrus sighed a little before patting Sans on the head.

"Goodnight, Brother." He said before he made himself comfortable and started to check through their items and weapons, so they weren't damaged. After some time, he too fell asleep.

.

Sans woke up as he heard a quiet rustle of grass, but he didn't move. He listened carefully to the light steps as they came closer and stopped in front of them.

"Ya know, if you want to sneak up onto two mercenaries, you gotta to be quieter." He said as he raised his head to stare at the sneaker. It was darker than before but that didn't hinder Sans. A small human child squeaked in fright as they stumbled backwards and landed on their butt. Sans blinked a little bit in surprise that it was a child that tried to sneak up on them. Beside the child was a big lump of cloth. The child themselves, had brown hair and their eyes shut. They wore a dark green medieval hood over a lighter blue shirt with matching trousers. And they had no shoes on them. Sans frowned slightly at that.

"Oh? Are you hurt, human?" Papyrus said, he had been awaken at the same time as Sans. The child lifted their head and looked at the two skeletons.

"A-ah! S-sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up!" The child hurriedly said before realizing how wrong that sounded. Papyrus rose up from his seat and moved towards the child while Sans continued to sit at his place.

"I-I mean..!" They begun but spluttered in surprise as Papyrus picked them up. Papyrus gave them a bright smile.

"It is rather okay! We get awoken by thieves all the time!" He said happily and the human squeaked both at the implication of what Papyrus had said and that Papyrus had started to turn them around and examine them.

"Hmm... It seems like you haven't gotten hurt! That's great!" He said when he was finished with his examination and put down the kid on the ground. He patted their head before straightening out his back. The child almost fell back to their butt again because of the dizzyness they felt. Sans was trying really hard not to laugh at the scene.

"Sans? What are you laughing about?" Papyrus said as he turned towards his brother and Sans knew he had failed. He took a few deep breath to calm down, but still a chuckle came out.

"It seems like you just have shaken the kid's world." He snickered out and Papyrus gave him a stern glare. A giggle behind Papyrus made both pause and look at the child before Sans grinned bigger.

"Human! Don't encourage him!" Papyrus said but it just made the human giggle more.

"Come on, bro. You're smiling." Sans said and his grin became bigger as Papyrus gave a defeated sigh.

"Yes, I am." He said before looking down at the human again. They calmed down quick enough.

"What was it that you wanted, human?" He said and the child looked up at him before seeming to remember something. Sans and Papyrus curiously looked at them as they went over to the forgotten cloth on the ground. They picked it up before turning towards Papyrus and Sans.

"Well… It's kind of cold out tonight and I thought that you were freezing without a blanket, so…" They said and held up the cloth to Papyrus. Papyrus picked it up and it was revealed it was a big and comfy looking blanket.

"I thought that I would give you two this. You two were already asleep when I came here, so I was thinking of just putting it on you and then leave." They said and looked down into the ground a bit embarrassed. They squeaked a little in surprise when they once again was picked up by Papyrus and held in front of him.

"Wowie! Sans, this kind human gave us a blanket!" He said before he hugged the human closely.

"Thank you for your consideration! Though, I do regret to inform you that we doesn't freeze since we have no skin! So we are not in need of a blanket!" He said as he looked at the human in his arms.

"Besides, don't you need it more yourself?" Sans said as he got up and walked over to Papyrus and the human. Despite the fact that the child basically hung from Papyrus arms, they didn't seem uncomfortable.

"No, not really. I live close by and we got enough blankets at home. It's better to share them, right?" They said and Papyrus eyes sparkled a little.

"This human is so adorable! Sans, can we keep them?" He said as he looked down to his brother.

"They aren't a pet, bro." Sans said with a chuckle before addressing the child.

"You sure? I don't wanna be rude, but aren't you… More on the poor side?" He said carefully and the human stared at him before frowning.

"Why do you think that?" They asked and swung their legs a little, still not seeming to mind being in Papyrus arms. Sans looked at their feet and they moved their toes a little in order to keep some warmth in them. The child bent over the arms to look at their feet too.

"I don't think they are that poor, Sans! Their clothes are clean and smells really nice!" Papyrus said with a tilt of his head.

"One can still be poor even if they have clean clothes, Paps." Sans said and frowned a little when the human giggled.

"You think I'm poor because I have no shoes?" They asked with a smile and winked with their toes. Sans nodded in confirmation and the human giggled even more.

"You are silly!" They said and continued to giggle.

"And why's that?" Sans asked and looked on as the child looked up at Papyrus and tugged at his scarf and pointing to the ground. Papyrus carefully set them down on the ground and they smiled brightly at Sans.

"You don't have to worry! I got some shoes back at home. I just don't wear them because I don't like shoes." They said and Sans looked at them before shaking his head and ruffled their hair.

"Heh. If you say so, kid. You sure you're not getting cold?" He said and got a nod as an answer. Then the kid looked up at the dark sky and frowned a little.

"I better get going. Mom's going to worry if she doesn't see me in bed." They said and Papyrus looked a bit disappointed.

"Well… I guess you have someone who worries about you! I, the GREAT Papyrus, will follow you home to make sure you are safe!" Papyrus said and Sans grinned.

"O-oh! That's no need to! I'll manage, it's not that far!" The human said as they shook their head while waving their hands in a negative manner.

"Well, you brought us a blanket, the least we can do is to make sure you get home safely." Sans said, but once again the human shook their head.

"It's not really that far… And I really got to go now. Bye!" They said and before Papyrus and Sans could protest, the child was running away along the castle wall. The human suddenly stopped and turned around.

"You two are really cool! Sans, Papyrus! I hope we see each other again!" They yelled and waved with their arms to the two skeletons. And, despite the fact the monsters couldn't quite see it, the human wore the biggest smile they had ever had on their face. Sans and Papyrus raised one hand each and waved back and just like that, the human had gone off running again and disappeared around a corner.

"That was an interesting meeting." Sans said as he lowered his hand and smiled.

"GAH! Sans! I forgot to ask what the human's name was!" Papyrus suddenly yelled, making Sans jump. Sans looked up to see tears in Papyrus eyes before sighing.

"Come on, bro. Let's get back to sleep. We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." He said as he returned to the wall.

"Shouldn't I follow the human to make sure they are okay?" Papyrus asked as he continued to look after the child.

"Nah. They seemed intent on not letting us see where they live. Can't blame them. Give them the benefit of trust." Sans said as he settled down against the wall and made himself comfortable. Papyrus stood there a while before he looked down at the blanket he still held in one of his hands. He looked at his brother before walking over and sitting down beside him, putting the blanket around them.

"They let us keep the blanket!" He said and noticed that Sans already had dozed off. He huffed before settling down completely and let himself to fall asleep once again.

* * *

 **AN: I truly enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it!**

 **Not so much to say this time around. Next chapter is going to be the last of the "Prologue" chapters. After that, the real story will finally begin.**

 **Thank everyone for reading, and don't be afraid to leave a review or asking if you are wondering something. See you in the next chapter!**


	4. Mission

The morning sun shone brightly over the courtyard. It was filled with different kinds of monsters, many happily chatting with each other as they waited for the audition to begin.

Toriel stood on the walkway on one of the walls and looked down over the group. It was quite a lot of monsters considering she only went out with the announcement yesterday. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened them and walked over to the speaking balcony. The monsters down below fell silent one by one as they noticed her standing there. Toriel smiled and spoke into the microphone.

"Hello everyone. Thank you for coming today. I'm Toriel, and per the request of the Queen, I will supervise you and this audition. As some of you might know, smaller villages have been attacked and some bigger ones too. The ones who are up to the task will be sent to reinforce the Royal Guard that have already been sent out over the country. Depending on your skill in fighting and in magic, you will be sent to different parts." She said and her voice boomed over the courtyard. She could see some of the other monsters nodding and getting pumped up over the task.

"Now, to the rules." She said and turned to the left as she raised her hand. A big screen made of fire appeared with rules on it. Toriel could hear some gasps and wows from the group, but she ignored them. She turned back towards the microphone, still holding her hand out.

"You will fight each other in tournament like condition. You will fight two battles each, more if we feel like we need to see more of your power. Some of you have requested to stay in a group, and that's fine, but your opponent will then also be paired up with someone else to make it even. We will have three fights going at the same time, so be aware of your surroundings. If you knock someone out in another ring, you will be disqualified. Those who are not fighting at the moment will stand in the sidelines and watch. We will not show or tell who will be fighting who until the match are about to begin. So pay attention to what I have to say. Me and the judges will have the final word in everything in this, there is no point in arguing the decisions we make. And finally…" She said and flicked her outstretched hand, making the text change on the fire screen.

"Keep your powers in check. You are not here to kill or badly hurt your opponent. If you kill someone, you will answer to it. And in this tournament, it's not important to win. It's more important to show that you can handle a battle without killing your opponent. Is this clear?" She said and got a chorus of affirmation. She nodded satisfied.

"Alright then. Let the audition begin. First up; Mira vs. Alrid in ring 1, Jarred vs. Noa in ring 2 and group Wolf vs. group Water in ring 3." She said and let her hand fall down, making the screen disappear. The monsters in the courtyard started to move towards the sides and the monsters who got their name called out moved towards their assigned rings. Toriel watched the scenery and sighed, this was going to take some time.

.

Toriel glanced down at the notepad in her hands. It was full of scribbles and notes from all the battles she had seen, and they were almost done for the day. Just a few more fights and then she would get the time to go through all the candidates. She brought her eyes up once more and overlooked the three fighting rings. In one ring, a lizard monster were fighting a spider monster. In another ring were two skeletons fighting one cat and one bull. In the last ring were a fish and a lizard fighting a dog and a cat. Toriel hummed as she watched them fight and wrote down some more notes. She paused in her writing when she heard light tapping from footsteps and then a slight thunk. She looked the the side to see Frisk climbing onto a small chair they had brought over. She chuckled a little.

"Shouldn't you be with Miranda and Matthias, dear?" She said and Frisk gave her a shy smile.

"Well, yes, but I wanted to visit you! You have been here for so long, I got worried that you have become bored." They said and leaned onto the stone railing. Toriel smiled at them but it turned into a small worried frown.

"That's very sweet of you, but, ah, don't lean on the railing like that. You might fall." She said and Frisk nodded a little, but didn't move away. They looked over the courtyard to see the monsters that was still fighting.

"Frisk-" Toriel begun warningly, but got interrupted by Frisk suddenly yelling.

"PAPYRUS! SANS!" They yelled, waving one of their arms in big and happy movements. Toriel looked over where the child were looking and saw the two skeletons stopping in their movements. Even from this distance, Toriel could see how the tall skeleton shone up at the sight of the child.

"HUMAN! IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" He shouted back as he too waved with the hand that didn't hold the smaller skeleton, who had a big shield in front of him, waved too before he noticed something and gave out a warning shout to the taller skeleton. A wall of spikes were flying towards them and the smaller one successfully hid behind his shield as he held a hand out towards the taller one. A blue energy shield appeared just in time in front of him and the spikes got stuck in it. The attack stopped and the energy shield shattered. And thus was all focus on the battle again.

Frisk looked worried for a moment, but when the two skeletons continued without seeming hurt, they breathed out.

"Quick reaction there." Toriel commented as she carefully looked on how the skeletons fought. Then she glanced down at Frisk.

"Do you know them, my child?" She asked before looking back to the fight. Frisk nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Met them yesterday!" They said with a big smile. This brought Toriel's gaze back upon them.

"You met them yesterday? But you were in the castle all day." She asked and Frisk realized what they had said. They looked a little nervous now.

"Did you sneak out again?" She said with a huff and Frisk raised their head to meet her gaze.

"But it was night! And they looked to be freezing!" They defended themselves and huffed in defiance. Toriel gave them a mischievous look.

"Oh? So, that's where your blanket went. I was wondering this morning. It appears that I will need to take it from them, then." She said in a serious tone, but the smile on her lips betrayed her. Frisk decided på play along.

"Noo! Please, mommy! Don't! I let them keep it!" They said in fake desperation as they gave Toriel puppy eyes.

"Hmpf. They surely bullied you into letting them keep it! I will need to take a serious talk with them!" She said as she turned around like she was about to walk away. Frisk grabbed her robe and clinged to it.

"Nooooo! Dooooon't!" They said and both Toriel and Frisk paused. They looked at each other before they started to giggle and Toriel picked up Frisk. She nuzzled their hair as they continued to giggle.

"Silly child." She said with a soft smile.

"Silly goatmom." They said back and nuzzled into Toriel's fur. Both of them stood there for a little while before a high whistle rang out, ending the battles that was going on.

"Oh! Seems like I have forgotten the audition. Frisk, please be a dear and go and play somewhere else. I need to finish this up." Toriel said as she let down the child. Frisk stood there and looked up at her.

"Toriel… They are for my journey, right?" They asked quietly and Toriel sighed.

"Yes, they are." She said and looked a bit sad. Frisk looked down to the ground and stayed silent for a while. Then they grabbed Toriel's robe and tugged it. Toriel watched as Frisk looked up at her with pleading eyes.

"Can you make sure Sans and Papyrus gets in, please? I really like them, they are funny…" They said in a quiet voice. She gave them a tiny smile.

"I'll see what I can do. But I can't promise anything." She said and patted them on the head.

"Now, go on and play with your siblings." She continued and ushered Frisk towards the door leading to the inside. Frisk glanced at her but did as she told them. As Frisk disappeared into the castle again, Toriel looked after them. She sighed a little before she turned back to the balcony and continued to work.

.

Sans and Papyrus sat in the shadows, watching everyone else chat and talk with each other. The audition had ended an hour ago, which meant resting time. Everyone who had been on the audition had been given some food and water to consume, which Papyrus was happily eating on. Sans were sitting beside Papyrus, leaning onto the wall.

"It's been quite the day today, huh." Sans said with a big yawn, hand over his mouth and one eye closed.

"Agreed! And we got to see the human again! That's just so cool!" Papyrus said enthusiastic and took another bite of his bread.

"Didn't expect to see them here, though. If they're here, that must mean they either are one of the soldier's children, or they might be a part of the royal family." Sans said and looked over the courtyard. He looked at the royal soldiers he could see and tried to see anyone who resembled the kid.

"Wowie! We might know someone from the royal family!" Papyrus said with stars in his eyes. Sans looked at him and chuckled.

"Take it easy, bro. They might-" He begun but got interrupted by Toriel walking out on the speaking balcony again. Her voice boomed out over the courtyard once again.

"Thank you for your patience. Many of you have been qualified and will be sent to the villages on the outer part of the kingdom. Some of you have been disqualified and thus will be sent away. The guards will gather you in different groups. Please be prepared to follow them when they ask to. Once again, thank you for participating!" She said before leaving.

"That was quick of them deciding!" Papyrus said as he packed his and Sans things into the bag. They sat there for a little while before a human guard approached them.

"Excuse me, are you Sans and Papyrus?" She asked and Sans nodded.

"Yup. The Skelebros to your service." He said as he got up and winked at her. The guard nodded before making a motion with her hand.

"Please follow me." She said and started to walk in one direction. Sans and Papyrus followed her into the castle. During the walk they were joined by a lizard, a bear and some type of a wolf/bird hybrid. After some walking, they were shown into a big room, looked like some kind of meeting room.

"Please wait here." The guard said before she disappeared out of the room. The five monsters stood there for a bit in silence before the bear spoke up.

"So, we are going to work with each other now. How about we introduce us?" He said and everyone nodded. The lizard stepped forward, tapping the floor a little with the cane in his hand. He had an eyepatch over his right eye, a shirt, a vest over it, a pair of baggy pants and no shoes on his feet.

"You can call me TC. I'm a traveling alchemist. I have mirror magic, which means I can create mirrors to aid me in various tasks. My speciality is to see how different kinds of magic works through the reflections and to locate it's true source." He simply said before stepping back and the hybrid stepped forward. She looked mostly like a wolf, but she had a pair of wings folded on her back and a rattail. She wore a t-shirt with a high collar, pants that are easy to move in and no shoes either.

"Mira. Ranger. Can fly, make tracks light up. Tracking magic." She said simply before stepping back. This time Papyrus took a step forward.

"I am Papyrus! I'm a swordmaster! When I'm not fighting with my sword or are dueling, I am able to attack with bones! And outside a battle, I am able to heal bones! Nyeh!" He said very proudly of himself. He stepped back and Sans simply raised his hand.

"'Sup. Name's Sans. Sans the skeleton. I'm a shieldbearer. Shield magic, so I'm gonna to cover your backs." He said with a wink and showing his shield that were on his back. Papyrus gave Sans a stare but couldn't help but to smile, TC huffed a little, Mira raised an eyebrow and the bear grinned. Then he stepped forward and tipped his worn and torn hat in greeting. He wore a fishing vest and a pair of cargo shorts. On his feet were a pair of knitted socks.

"I'm Malte, healer by default. My magic is healing, can heal both wounds and bones. Nothing more to it." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. As he stepped forward, it became silent between them.

Before the silence became awkward, the door opened and everyone turned towards it. In walked a human woman that the monsters immediately recognized as Queen Estelle. After her came another woman dressed in a suit and Toriel. The five monsters bowed to the Queen as she walked over to them. She stopped in front of them and thoroughly looked at them. The woman in the suit stopped behind her to the side while Toriel stood not as close to the Queen as the other woman was. Nothing was said for some minutes, until the Queen turned towards Toriel.

"So these are the ones you found trustworthy?" She said and Toriel nodded. The five monsters gave each other confused looks. Sans narrowed his eyes a little but didn't otherwise move.

"Yes, my Queen. From what I have seen, they can be trusted. Their skills will also be very helpful, if something were to happen." Toriel said as she walked up Malte. She smiled at him and motioned him to take a step forward.

"This is Malte. Can hold hold his own in battle, but his main function are a healer. Perfect for the journey in the terms that they need a medic." She said before she walked over to TC and motioned him to step forward.

"This is TC. He is an alchemist and has a vast knowledge of different magic. We don't know what they will encounter, so he is a necessary member of the journey." She said and turned around towards Mira and motioned to her to step forward.

"This is Mira and she is a ranger. Can detect many dangers beforehand. She will be able to reduce the dangers they will encounter." She said before walking over to the two skeletons. She were silent for a few seconds as she looked at them. Papyrus started to squirm a little but then Toriel smiled and motioned them to step forward. Toriel turned towards Estelle made a gesture the skeletons.

"This is Sans and Papyrus. A shieldbearer and a swordmaster. They will be able to protect everyone. They have an incredible synchronization with each other which I haven't seen in many." Toriel said with a smile but got interrupted by the woman in the suit.

"What's the 'but', Ms. Toriel?" She said and Toriel faltered a little. She hesitated for a split second before she sighed.

"They weren't my choice." She said and looked the Queen dead in the eyes. It was silent for a moment before the Queen sighed.

"They choose the skeletons, right?" Estelle said and Toriel gave an apologetic smile. The woman in the suit chuckled a little and Estelle sighed once again.

"Troubling child." She mumbled to herself fondly. Then she straightened her back even more and became serious. Toriel moved over to the Queen's side.

"Mario. Will you please go and fetch Frisk?" She said and the woman behind her bowed before disappearing out through the door. When the door closed with a click, the Queen addressed the five monsters in front of her.

"You five have been chosen to quite a special mission. Before we proceed, you have to swear on our ancestors that you will not speak of this outside this room until it's time." She said and the monsters were silent for a little while before Mira spoke up.

"I will say nothing of what had been said in this room." She said and the others nodded.

"I will not say anything either! Nor will my Brother Sans do!" Papyrus said proudly. Sans closed one eye.

"Sure thing." He said with a shrug.

"I won't anything, I swear it." Malte said and Tc once again nodded.

"If it's needed to be silent for this mission, then I shall not say anything about it outside this room." He said and Estelle looked satisfied.

"Good. Now then, I will explain your mission. Your mission will differ quite a bit from everyone else. Instead of protecting a village, your mission will be an escort mission." She said and paused to let it sink in before she continued.

"First of all, I need to explain the basics of this mission so you will understand the importance of it. The Monster Kingdom have been infected with some sort of epidemic. People have become violent and attacks everyone they see and are thus not trustworthy. We do not know much about this, and that's why I'm asking you to be very careful. I do not think it's a trap from Asgore's side, but something have happened in his kingdom. He has requested help, and I will send him some doctors and scientists in order to help, along with some soldiers. Your mission is to escort everyone to Asgore's castle and then back. Your priority though will be one very special person." She said, not letting anyone to ask a question. It knocked on the door before it opened to reveal Mario walking in, a child walking in behind her. Sans and Papyrus got big eyes as they recognized the child they met the night before. The child walked over to the Queen and she put them in front of her, her hands on their shoulders.

"This is my child, Frisk. Due to their odd ability to calm down even the most furious animal, I have decided to send them to Asgore so they can help. Your priority one is to protect Frisk with your life, no matter what. If you fail to do this, there will be consequences." Estelle said dead serious and gave the monsters a cold stare. Frisk looked at the monsters and gave a small wave with a smile to Papyrus and Sans when they noticed them.

"Not to be rude, ma'am, but why are you sending a child to take care of violent persons?" Malte asked as he frowned. The Queen gave him a cold glare.

"It is not that I want to send my child to Asgore, it is something I must. If I did not care for them, why would I do my best to ensure that they are protected? My best men will follow, and so will you. Don't dare to question me again." She said in a chilling voice. The others looked hesitant, but then the child spoke up.

"Besides, I do wanna help. They are suffering there and if I can help, I want to do it!" They said and smiled big. The monsters just looked at Frisk.

"If the child goes, and if it's my duty to protect them, I will go!" Papyrus said and showed thumbs up to Frisk who giggled at that. The other monsters grumbled an agreement. Estelle gave a small smile.

"Good. I hope you have understood your mission. Now, you will leave for your mission tonight. Until then, you are not to leave the castle ground. You will meet up with your human teammates after this, Mario will show you the way. If there is anything you need, ask Mario. She might be able to gather some things for you. I wish you the best of luck on your journey." She said and started to escort Frisk out of the room with Toriel after her. Frisk looked back and waved to Sans and Papyrus who both returned the wave with a smile.

"Well then. If you would like to follow me." Mario said before she turned around and walked towards the door. The five monsters looked at each other before they followed her.

"This is so exciting! Sans! I'm going to be the best bodyguard there is!" Papyrus said to Sans as they walked Sans chuckled.

"Sure, bro. You're gonna be the best." He said with a smile.

* * *

 **AN: Just going to give you a heads up from here. From here on I'm going to write another story in another fandom at the same time as this story. So this story is going to be updated slower than at this pace I have done now. But I will try to update at least once a month, can't promise anything though...**

 **And for anyone who are worried that this is going to turn into a story where Oc's will have a big part: don't worry. They will not.**

 **As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!**

 **Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**


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